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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pop · court · charge · wind · bear · cold · arm · pound

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. charge — electricity
  3. court — of law
  4. charge — in control
  5. bear — the animal
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. charge — a price
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. court — for sport
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com